[CAUT] position announcements, etc

[Douglas Wood]

It's the proverbial carrot and stick. Debbie has outlined a very nice  
stick: IMHO what will get noticed is parents and/or students asking  
potentially embarrassing questions in evaluating which school to  
attend. So we can easily suggest those.

The carrot is providing excellent pianos. Truth is, few of us can  
keep very many of the pianos in excellent condition, but it only  
takes a few to be able to say, "Oh, you like that. Me, too. We could  
have a lot more of that if only there was the proper support."

Doug Wood
School of Music
University of Washington


On Aug 24, 2008, at 8:04 AM, DCyr141833 at aol.com wrote:

> Well, here's my 2 cents......
> When Larry Fine came out with The Piano Book, he, in effect, was  
> looking to educate the consumer, who then would know what to look  
> for, and what questions to ask, which then put the manufacturers on  
> notice, and in the end made the manufacturers more responsible for  
> their end product.  Why can't something similar be done with  
> schools of music?  I put this to Larry, asking if this was  
> something he'd be interested in adding to his book.  He thought it  
> was an excellent idea, but probably should be undertaken as a  
> separate project, by CAUT.  His thoughts...
> My suggestion would be that CAUT should come up with -- to the  
> extent reasonably possible -- precise, objective criteria for piano  
> condition, maintenance, budget, etc. that music schools should  
> ideally have, and then give each school a numerical rating based on  
> those criteria.  These ratings, along with comments, could then be  
> published and offered to music educators and others who influence  
> student and parental decisions concerning choice of school to  
> attend.  It could be updated every few years.  I would be  
> interested in publishing such a book, or perhaps PTG would like to.
> I truly believe that the educated consumer - the music degree  
> seeking  student and their parents - knowing what questions to ask,  
> knowing what to look for, guided by some sort of "Handbook on Music  
> Schools" in which could be "ratings" of schools according to CAUT  
> guidelines - they will demand and cause more change among music  
> schools, more quickly, than all of our foot-stomping, rants, and  
> emails could ever do.
> All we need is someone willing to do the leg-work.
>
>
> Debbie Cyr
> Registered Piano Technician
> 508-202-2862 cell
>
>
>
> It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel  
> deal here.

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